Locomotive



`fune 16, 1931. H. L. INGt-:RsoLL LocoMoTIvE original Filed` Nov. 23,'192s June 16, 1931.

H. L INGERSOLL LocoMoTIvE- Origial Filed Nov. 23, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 2vanter Juif@y 16, 1931. I H. L. INGERsoLL. 1,810,709`

LOGOMOTIVE Original Filed N0V 25. 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented June16, 1931 .UNITED STATES;-

@reise- HoWAnn L.`11vennsoLLr,oF STAM-FORD, CONNECTICUT LOooiyroTrvn toriginai applicati@ inea Novembef 2,3,y 1923', serial Neef/6,497.-nivia'aam uns applicaties fiieaj ,november ae, 192e.

My invention` relates to Asteaml locomotives and the like, andis moreespecially concerned with increasing" their power, aefhcieney and life,and, at the same time, in saving wear and 5 tea-r on rails andequipment. I have discovered that greatly increased efficiencyand powercan be secured without vcorresponding increase in size and weight, byemploying a yspecial ydrive or transmission between the -10 prime moversor engines and the drive wheels, instead ofthe usual directconneetions,and using substantially higher boiler pressures than heretofore.V `Bymeans of aA steam-electric drive, Il can overcome the practical limi-"15 tation on boiler pressure'heretofore'imposed by the limitedvadhesion of drive wheels to track under a given d eadweight load e., thefactor ofadhesion, as it is commonly termed), so that 'I am enabled,withsuitable boiler construction, to employ Vvery high steam pressuresand temperatures indeed:

g., double or treble the present working pressure of about 200 lb. persq. in.

The increase in power and efficiency obtain- 25 able by such highboilerpressures willl readily be appreciated by steam engineers.. U,The

electric drive is well adapted to such pressures (as 'already intimated)for several reasons: e. g., it gives uniform torque at thel driv- `3`0ers; its flexibility allows the drivers tobe ofthe most advantageoussizes, and lpermit's drivers and prime movers to operate at the speedsmost favorable for each; andit allows" anyor evenall the wheelsioflocomotive and the torque that must be utilized at each withoutslippage,,-especially in starting.

In other words, a drive or transmission that r' tender toube used-asdrivers',and thus reduces` 'Y ers and drivers to operate at differentspeeds f Serial No. 150,(105.

been impossiblev heretofore to ymakeuse of very high boiler pressures',for the reason that,- as' the pressure increases, the torque 1ncreases,especially in starting, and a too greatly increased pressure"means aslipperymlocoinotive. f Of course, the factor of adhesion can be and has`been raised by increasingthe weight on the' drivers, but thisprocesshas about reached'its limit.` Y' V I overcome the difficulty, asindicated, by using a steam electric drive with veryihigh boilerpressure(v vIn this way, thefaetor of eoV adhesion will not be affected,as it were',by

the high boiler pressure, use a pressure which would'normally causeslippage in any old type locomotive withY directreciprocating drive.

Y I prefer'to use a turbineorturbines to generate the current becausethey eliminate reciprocating motion, and, thus, save wear and l In otherwords, I

areciprocating engine when using steamat t ordinary pressures.L Thecondenser, for v,a

Vlocomotive ofv a few `hundred horsepower would not be preposterous',butonefor a 3500 horsepowerlocomotive would be entirelyouty of thequestion.' `The amount of water requiredto 'condense for such amachine-'Would be tremendous,`or if,'on the other hand, an arrcooledcondenser were-adopted, it would take several 'car loads of piperacks. j

Furth@rmore,r by my invention, I am enabled touse the eiliaust steamfrom the turl bine for draft purposes, a feature which, of course,'wouldbe; impossible with low pressur turbines` and condensers. *In yorderl toderiver theH fullest advantage from the'high boiler pressure,'I alsoaim'to enable such high pressure 'to befcarried without makingtheboyiler shell,` etc., excessively thick and heavy. l`Ifalso aim toadapt vthe lo- Y comotive to operation with fuel burned' in suspensionV`f(`such as oil) in a novel manner.

The use of oil as fuel favors the compactness of steam generating plantso essential in a locomotive. In the case of a boiler of the generalScotch drum type, such as hereinafter particularly shown and described,the use of such fuels, as above mentioned, favors reduction in thediameters of combustion flues and fire-tubes, so as to stand the highpressure without excessive thickness and weight.

How all these and other advantages can be realized through my inventionwill appear from my description hereinafter of the best embodiment knownto me, comprising a turbo-electric locomotive equipped with my preferredtype of boiler adapted for pressures of 400 to 600 lb. per sq. in. orupward.

In the drawings zy Fig. 1 is a side view of such a. locomotiveconveniently embodying my invention.

Fig. 2v shows a vertical fore and aft midsection through the boiler ofthe locomotive shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a transverse section through the boiler at the firing end,taken as indicated by the line 3-3 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary head-on view of the locomotive, with certainparts broken away and in section, as indicated by the line 4.-4 in Fig.2.

Referring, first, to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the locomotive shownis of the general turbo-electric t-ype set forth in my pendingapplication, Serial No. 556,228, filed April 24, 1922, now Patent No.1,615,454, granted January 25th, 1927. This locomotive comprises aboiler 10 mounted on interconnected vehicles or carriages 11. Each ofthese vehicles 11 comprises a couple of wheel trucks 12 and 13 withradius bar interconnection. The tender 14 that carries the supplies ofwater and fuel is similarly mounted on another carriage 11. As shown,similar ends of all adjacent vehicles 11 are interconnected. Theforemost radially or laterally swinging trucks 13 of locomotive andtender lead, and the rear swinging truck 13 of the locomotive trails.Driving motors 15 are mounted on the axles of all the loaded wheels oflocomotive andY tender. Thesemotors 15 may be operated by current takenfrom anl ordinary trolley or third rail system by overhead trolley 16 orthird rail contact shoes 17; or they may be operated by current fromgenerators 2O driven by steam turbines 21 through reduction gearing 22.As shown, these latter parts 20, 21, 22, are all mounted on the platformof the forward vehicle 11, the turbines 21 ahead of the boiler 10, andthe generators 2O and gearing 22 at either side. (See Fig. 4.) Theturbines 21 take steam from the boiler 10 through piping equipped withregulators 23, such as shown in my aforesaid application. The locomotiveis here'indieated as equipped for firing with oil supplied from thetender 14 thro-ugh flexible pipes 24. Referring, now,

more especially to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, it will be seen that my improvedboiler 10 here shown is of a modified Scotch drum type, comprising amain drum 25 with outer shell 26, helically corrugated combustion lues27 in its lower portion, and return tubes 28 above the flues. The flues27 and the tubes 28 may be expanded in the tube sheets 29 and flangedover to serve as stays; and stay rods 31 may be provided for areas ofthe sheets 29 around the lues and outside the tubes. If necessary, sometubes 28 may be installed above the usual level, with stay rods 31within them; or some of the tubes 28 above the water level may simply beplugged off, as at 32, to leave them dead7 and prevent their burningout. As shown, the flue sheets 29 are curved or dished inward, Vtostrengthen all areas not stayed by the tubes 28 or the rods 31.

Being lired with fuel burned in suspension instead of on grates, theflues 27 need not be so large as in ordinary Scotch boilers; e. g., theymay be about 20 inside diameter, and the lues 28 about 31/2. The outershell 26 may be of steel plate corresponding in thickness to presentpractice for pressures of 200 lbs. or more, and may be externallygirdled with steel wire reinforcement 33 of high tensile strength, toenable it to stand the much higher pressures that I contemplate. Thisreinforcement may be applied by placing the boiler in centers andwinding the wire 33 on it (very much as in the manufacture of heavyordnance), suitably securing the ends of the wire to the shell, as bywelding the end convolutions. To avoid interference with the wire 33,the seams of the shell 26 may be butt seams with butt straps 34 on theinside, as shown, and the external rivet heads 35 may be countersunk.For like reasons, all fittings and connections may preferably be appliedto the end sheets 29.

In the present instance, the boiler 10 is arranged to be fired from therear end of the locomotive, by oil burning apparatus comn prehensivelyindicated at 36; the combustion chamber 37 is at the front; and there isa smoke box 38 at the rear, t-o receive the products of combustionissuing from the return tubes 28. To make the locomotive conform toordinary practice, the products of combustion may be led forwardfro-inthe smoke box 38 through a ca sing 39 extending along the maindrum 25, to a stack 40 above the combustion chamber 37; instead ofdischarging directly from the smoke box itself.

A draft is created, for example, by means of a suction fan 76 inthestack 40, which fan is driven preferably by means of a small turbine 77conveniently located on some portion of the adjacent boiler structure.The exhaust steam from the turbines 21 is utilized through the conduit78 to operate the fan. The stack is `reversely curved, as shown in Figs.1 and 2, in order to provide an arrangement which will make possible ahorizontal disposition of the direct drive shaft V79. However, other fanarrangements might be employed equally well, and it is not my intentionto limit the invention to this precise construction.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, there is a sepa-Y rate smoke conduit 4l inthe casing 39; and

an air supplyfconduit 42 for the burners 36' extends rearward aroundthis smoke conduit 41 from a grated intake 43 at the fro-nt of thelocomotive and of the casing 39 Figs. 2 and 4). There is a separatesteam drum 45 connected to the main drum 25V at either end by U-bentconnections 46 taking into the ends of both drums.

The combustion chamber 37- is shown as consisting of a rounded metalshell with refractory lining of fire bricks 47. Against the inside ofthe latter are a series of water circulating tubes 48 bent insubstantially ver` tical planes,with their lower and upper ends securedin the outer Zone of the flue sheet 29, below the fiues 27 and above thefire tub-es 28. As shown, the outer Zone of the flue sheet 29 that takesthe tubes 48 is reinforced and strengthened with a sheet metal band 49.The tubes 48 not only help the steaming of the boiler, but also cool andprotect the combustion chamber lining 47 against erosion or slagging. Inthe present instance, the smoke box 38 consists simply of a sheet metalshell without refractory lining: it is provided with clean-outy openings51 in its bottom, and with a conveniently located manhole 52.

Asr shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the steam is led ofi' from the drum 45through a throttle 53 in the latter and a pipe 54 extendingout throughthe drum side. Preferably, the steam is superheated before being led tothe turbines 21, in order to improve the efliciency of operation stillmore by thehigher teniperature, etc. To avoid slagging troubles in thecase of powdered fuel, and excessive thickness of flues, thesuperheater"employed is preferably located in the smoke boX 38 ratherthan in enlarged fire-tubes, as is the usual locomotive practice.Accordingly, the

saturated steam pipe 54 extends rearward in the casing 45 to asuperheater located in the midst of the smoke box 38, right in the pathof the products of combustion issuing from the flues 28. VAs shown, thesuperheater 55 is of the closed end and internal circulating tube type.steam is led forward through ra pipe 56 in the casing 45 to theregulators 23 andthe turbines 2l. After passing amongst the super-heatertubes, theV products of combustion rise to the opening of the downwardand rearward curved smoke conduit 4 1.

Preferably, the feedwater from theftender 14 is led forward through aiexible connecf tion 57 to a feedwater heater 58 in the smoke From it,the superheated' boXBS. vAs shown,i the feedwater heater 58 is double,consisting of headers 61, 62,-and

interconnecting curved tubes 63 at either side ofthe superhea'ter. Thewater enters the upper headers 61, passesdown through the tube banks 63in parallel, and. passes from the'lower headers 62 to the rear end of i(Figs. andv 3), the smokebox :38 not only encloses the rear ends of thereturn tubes 26 and extends up to the top of the casing 39 (whence it isseparated a plate. 65), but also extends `down over the rear ends of theflues27, and'evenv below thevbottom of the drum 25. Thus, theburners't)are virtually in the smoke boxBS. As here shown, the bur-ner apparatus`36 comprises,` for each flue 27, a suitably valved fuel pipe 66 andanair pipe 6 7 extending across the smoke box 38 from its rear wall anddischarging directly into the rear end of the Hue. There are alsosupplemental air sup-ply pipes 68 extending forward in each flue 27to'suitable outlets 69. As shown, each of the pipes 68 is flattened toan'arcuate cross-section within the flue 27so as toliejsnug in itsbottomand obstruct the iue as little as possible, and there may be a number ofthem .for each flue arranged Vto discharge at different points along the.from the motion o-f the locomotive when the latter is' running slow,standing still, or backing. 1

Attention is directed tothe fact that Athis yum application isa divisionof my earlier application, Serial Nol 676,497, filed November 23, 1923,and that, in the present application,

noV claims are made to the details of the boiler structure disclosed,sincesuch subject matter- Vis being claimed in the parent application. f

`What I claim in the present case is :-y l. In a locomotive, thecombination of va plurality of driving axles with their wheels',`

f is high enough to overcome the necessity for using a condenser;

2. In a locomotive, the combination of` a plurality of driving axleswith their'wheels,

electric motors therefor, an kelectric genera-v tor, asteam turbine fordriving the generator, and a boiler for producing steam at a pressureupwards of 400 pounds whereby to run the turbine at an efficiency pointwhich is high enough to overcome the necessity for using a condenser,together with draft creating means for the boiler utilizing exhauststeam from said turbine.

3. In a locomotive, the combination of a plurality of driving axles withtheir wheels, electric motors therefor, an electric generator, a steamturbine, speed reduction mecha.- nism connecting the turbine and thegenerator, and a boiler for producing steam at a pressure upwards of 400pounds whereby to run the turbine at an elliciency point which is highenough to overcome the necessity for using a condenser.

4. A high pressure steam locomotive in which the factor of adhesion isunaffected by the boiler pressure, said locomotive including incombination, a plurality of driving axles with their wheels, electricmotors therefor, an electric` generator, a high-speed, highefficiencysteam power means for driving said generator', and a boiler forproducing steam at a. pressure upwards of 400 pounds whereby to run saidpower means at an eficiency point which is high enough to overcome thenecessity for using a condenser.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

HOW/'ARD L. INGERSOLL.

